Semi-Weekly Journal, Volume 3, Number 238, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 July 1841 — Page 1

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BY DOUGLASS & NOEL.

INDIANAPOLIS, SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1841.

VOL. 3. NO. 238.

PUBLISHED THREE TIMES A WEEK DURING THE SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE- TWICE A WEEK THE REMAINDER OF THE TEAR. Terms. Four Dollars n year, payable In advance, and conudered due at the date of the tubseription. If not paid In advance, however, Fivs Dollars will be the price. Advertisements will be inserted at the fallowing rates:--Ten lines or loss, for oneorthreeinsertions,ons dollar, and twin-ty-fivs cents for each continuance. Or, will be continued on ontract one year, for $-15, and will be altered occasionally ifde. reid. On longer advertisements, a reasonable deductiou will be made. tjSINGLE COMES Cents. . ! From Stephen's Travels in Central America, &c. AGUA CALIENTES. "It was cold and windy. We ascended and crossed a high plain, and at the distance of a league descended to a village. Beyond this we ascended a high and ,rugged mountain, and on the top reached a magnificent plain. We rode at a brisk pace. At dusk we reached the top of a high mountain, and by one of those long, steep, and difficult descents of which it is impossible to give the reader any idea, entered the village of Agua Calientes. It was occupied by Indians, who gathered round us in the plaza, and by the light of pine sticks looked at Carrera's passport. Not one of them could read it, but it was enough to pronounce the name, and the whole village was put in requisition to provide us with something to eat. We made inquiries with the view of hiring for the night, the bedsteads of the principal inhabitants, but there was not one in the village; all slept on the bosom of mother earth, and we had part of the family bed. Fortunately, however, and most important for us, our mules fared well. Early in the morning we resumed our journey. There are warm springs in this neighborhood, but we did not go out of our way to visit them. A short distance from the village, we crossed a river and commenced ascending a mountain. On the top we came upon a narrow table of land, with a magnificent forest on both sides far below us. The wind swept over the lofty height, so that with our ponchas, which were necessary on account of the cold, it was difficult to keep the saddle. The road was broken and stony, and the track scarcely perceptible. At about ten o'clock, the whole surface of the mountain was a bare ridge of lime stone, from which the sun was reflected with scorching heat, and the whiteness was dazzling and painful to the eyes. Below us, on each side, continued an immense forest of gigantic pines. The road was perfectly desolate; we met no travellers. In four hours we saw on our left, at a great distance below, a single hacienda, with a clearing around it, seemingly selected for a magnificent seclusion from the convulsions of a distracted country. The ridge was broken by gullies and deep ravines; and we came to one across which, by way of bridge, lay the trahks of two gigantic pines. My macho always pulled back when I attempted to lead him, and I remained on his back, and was carried steadily over; but at the oth

er end we started at a noise behind us. Our best cargo-mule had fallen, rolled over, and hung on the brink of the precipice, with her feet kicking in the air, kept from falling to the bottom, on by being entangled among bushes. In a moment we scrambled down to her; got her head turned up the bank, and by means of strong halters heaved her out; but she was bruised and cripled, and barely able to stagger under her load. Continuing along the ridge, swept by fierce blasts of winds, we descended again to a river, rode some distance along its bank, and passed a track up the side of a mountain on the right, so steep that I had no idea it could be our road, and passed it, but was called back. It was the deepest ascent we had yet had in the country. It was cruel to push my brave macho, but I had been tormented all day with a violent headache, and could not; so I beat up, making the best tacks I could, and stopping every time I put about. On the top broke upon us one of those grand and magnificent views which, when we had wiped off perspiration and recovered breath, alwaysindemnified us for our toil. It was the highest ground on which we had yet stood. Around us was a sea of mountains, and peeping above them, but sO little as to give

full effect to our own great neigor, were uie cumcm tops of two new volcanoes. The surface was of limestone rock, an immense strata, with quartz, in one piece of which we discovered a speck of gold. Here again, in this vast wilderness of mountains, deep in the bowels of the earth, are those repositories of the precious ores for which millions upon millions all over the world are toiling, bargaining, craving and cheating every day. Continuing on this ridge, we came out upon a spur commanding a view, far below us, of a cultivated valley, and the village of San Sebastiano. We descended to the valley, left the village on our right, crossed theTspur, and saw the end of our day's journey, the town of Gueguetenango, situated on an extensive plain, with a mild climate, luxuriant with tropical productions, surrounded by immense mountains, and before us the greatierra Madre, the natural hulwark ofCentral America, the grandeur and magnificence of the view disturbed only by the distressing reflection that we had to cross it. My macho, brought up on the plains of Costa Rica, had long seemed puzzled to know what mountains were made for; if he could have spoken, he would have cried out in anguish, "Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise." Our day's journey was but twenty-seven miles, but it was harder for man and beast than any sixty since we left Guatitnala. We rode into the town, the chief place of the last district' of Central America and of the ancient kingdom of Quiche. It was well built, with a large church or plaza, and again a crowd of Mestizoes were engaged in the favorite occupation of fighting cocks. As we rode through the plaza the bell sounded for the oracion or vesper prayers. The people fell on their knees and we took off our hats. We reached Gueguetenango in a shattered condiThe next morning Don Joaquim told us of the skeleton of a colossal animal, supposed to be & mastodon, which had been found in the neighborhood. Some of the bones had been collected, and were then in the town, and having seen them, we took a guide and walked to the p'.ace where they had been discovered, on the borders of the Rio Chinaca, about half a mile distant. At this time the river was low, but the year before, swelled by the immense floods of the rainy season it had burst its bounds, carried away its left bank, and laid bare one side of the skeleton. The bank was perpendicular, about thirty feet high, and the animal had been burried in an upright position. Besides the bones in the town, some had been carried away by the flood, others remained embedded in the earth; but the impression of the whole animal, from twenty-five to thirty feet long, was distinctly visible. We were told tbat about eight leagues above, on the bank of the same river, the skeleton of a much larger animal had been discovered. In the afternoon we rode to the ruins, which in the town were called las cuetxu, the caves. They lie about half a league distant, on a magnificent plain,

bounded in the distance by lofty mountains, among I which is the great Sierra Madre. The site of the ancient city, as at Patinamit and Santa Cruz del Quiche, was chosen for its security against enemie3. It was surrounded by a ravine, and the general character of the ruins is the same as at Quiche, butthe hand of destruction has fallen upon it more heavily. The whole is a confused heap of grass-grown fragments. The principal remains are two pyramidal structures. One of them measures at the base one hundred and two feet; the steps are four feet high and seven feet deep, making the wholo height twenty-eight feet. They are not of cut stone as at Copan, but of rough pieces cemented with lime, and the whole exterior was formerly coated with stucco and painted. On the top is a small square platform, and at the base lies a long slab of rough stone, apparently hurled down from the top; perhaps the altar on which human victims were extended for sacrifice. At the foot of the structure was a vault, faced with cut stone, in which were found a collection of bones anda terracotta vase. The vault was not long enough for the body of a man extended, and the bones must have been separated before they were placed there. 1 ; From the Ohio Stale Journal. Independence, Mo., May 15, 1841.

Emigration over the Rocky Mountains. I arrived

at this place on the 5th inst. just two weeks after my departure from vour city. Independence is situated in

the rich county of Jackson, about six miles south of the Missouri river, within ten miles of the Indian Ter'y. It is a thriving village of some S00 inhabitants, and bids fair to become a place of considerable importance. The country adjacent is well watered, and remarkable for its fertility. Since my arrival, the town has presented quite a business like and interesting appearance, from the influx of traders and emigrants, bound for the regions of New Mexico, California and Oregon. The people hereabouts should certainly receive credit for their bold, daring and romantic spirit of enterprize, which stalks forth as chainless and free as the rude winds that sweep o'er the shorn fields of autumn. Between the 4th and 10th inst. some forty or more large trading wagons left here for Santa Fee, containing merchandize to the amount of rising $100,000. Independence is the annual place of rendezvous to persons engaged in the Spanish trade, previous to their outset. This trade has already assumed no small importance, and is yielding large fortunes to its

pursuers. Notwithstanding the great expense of

overland transportation (goods being conveyed by caravans, the distance of 800 miles,) and the enormous duties imposed by the Mexican Government, the nett profit varies from 600 to 800 per centum. On the 12th inst a company of 12 individuals, under the direction of Col. Fitzpatrick, left this place for the Oregon Territory, a part of whom intend to be

come settlers. A day or two afterwards, four or hve families passed through here upon their line of march to the same place of destination. Several other families intend to make a like emigration shortly. To day, a company of 50 or 60 emigrants design leaving Sapling Grove, (25 miles west of this,) at which they have been encamped for a week, bound for California. On Wednesday next, another party of 12, now with us, are to follow suit. I have conversed with several connected with the latter expedition, to ascertain the motives which induced them to emigrate to that remote and foreign country. In reply, I have learned that several from this State have visited California, during the past year, and brought back most flattering reports in regard to its soil, climate and productions; that the country is yet but sparsely settled, and that in order to accelerate its increase of population, the Mexican Government confers a gratuity of one square league of land upon every family settling upon its boundaries. If such is a true statemrnt of facts, in the course of a few years California will become a new theatre -for re-acting the drama of Texas. Thus you will perceive that the tide of emigration

is ever flowing West and Westward still! Oregon and California are here the engrossing theme of conversation. A universal interest exist upon the subject of the possession and settlement of our territory west of the Rocky Mountains, and depend upon it, should Congress establish a territorial government within it, and pass some act for the encouragement of emigration and protection of actual settlers, thousands and tens of thousands are ready at this moment, to remove thither. A few days since I visited the Indian country, and was much gratified with the excursion. It was that portion inhabited by the Shawnee tribe. Their land is of the richest and most productive quality; their farms are many cf them large and splendid, and for Indians they appear to be quite a civilized, industrious and sober community. Their broad and luxurient prairies are interesting to the beholder. No land can be found more fertile or better watered than it, and the green groves of forest trees like the thick islands of some fairy seas, with the green grass, and blooming flowers before, behind, on either side, beneath your feet, both please the eye and delight the heart. On Tuesday last, a company of Mexican merchants arrived here on their way to the East, with some $300,000 in specie, with which they design purchasing goods. A few more such god-sends would be thankfully received by the citizens of this country. The article of specie in this State of pure and unadulterated Loco Focoism, is quite as scarce, and ragged "shin plasters," of from $1 to ,$ 10, are quite as plenty, as in our own, so called "Bankridden" Ohio. Bank notes, from other States, of $5 and under, form almost the sole medium of small change. View of both Oceans. The lofty point on which we stood was perfectly clear, the atmosphere was of transparent beauty, and looking beyond the region of desolation, below us, at a distance perhaps of two thousand feet, the whole country was covered with clouds, and the city at the foot of the volcano was invisible. By degrees, the more distant clouds were lifted, and over the immense bed we saw at the same moment the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This was the grand spectacle we had hoped, but scarcely expected to behold. My companions had ascended the volcano several times, but on account of the clouds had only seen the two seas once before. The points at which they were visible were the Gulf of Nicoya and the harbor of San Juan, not directly opposite, but at right angles to each other, so that we saw them without turning the body. In a right line over the top of the mountains neither was more than twenty miles distant, and from the great height a, which they stood they seemed almost at our feet. It is the only point in the world which commands a view of the two seas; and I ranked the sight with those most interesting occasions, when from the top of Mount Sinai I looked out upon the Desert of Arabia, and from Mount Hor I saw the Dead Sea. Stephen's Incidents of TraveZ. I

From the Rochester Democrat. Martin Harris, the Mormon. In an article we published on Tuesday, it was announced that Martin Harris was found near Nauvoo, the city of the Mormons, shot through the head, and there was no doubt of his having been murdered. We have ever regarded Mr. Harris as an honest man. We first became acquainted with him at Palmyra, in the spring of 1823, shortly after the plates from which the book of Mormon is said to have been translated, were found. At that time Jo. Smith had but a mere handful of followers, most of whom were

As destitute of character and intelligence as the "Pro

phet" himself. Mr. H., however, was an exception. Though illiterate, and naturally of a- superstitious turn of mind, he had long sustained en irreproachable character for probity. He became an early believer in Ihe doctrines of Mormonism, and neglected no opportunity of inculcating them, even at the expense of his pecuniary interest. By his neighbors and townsmen, with whom he earnestly and almost incessantly labored, he was regarded as being deluded himself, than as wishing to delude others knowing, ly; but still he was subjected to many scoffs and rebukes, all of which he endured with a meekness becoming a better cause. Mr. Harris was the only man of wealth among the early Mormons, and many were the calls made upon hispurse for the purpose of feeding Smith and foster

ing this humbug in its incipient stages. The heavier taxes to which he was at first subjected, were for two jouneys to Pennsylvania, by command of Smith, who was then in that state, and who had received, if we are to credit him, a revelation from the Lord, to the effect hat the suffering Gentiles in that region demandel of Mr. H. these visits. That Smith's pecuniary sufferings at least were relieved, is certain. The next was for a journey to Dr. Mitchell of New York, aid other men of science in the Eastern States, to ascertain whether they were sufficiently profound to render into English the hieroglyphic characters which had been entrusted to Mr. H., and represented as fac similes of those on some of the plates which Smith pretended to have found. But the most severe

tax upon Mr. H's purse, was for the publication of

the Book of Mormon. To secure the printer he mortgaged his farm, one of the best in the town, and ultimately lost it. j The work did not meet as ready a sale as was anticipated; but had those to whom the sale was entrusted, appropriated the proceeds as honesty would haie dictated, he would probably have been enabled to jedeem his farm. A few years after this wo saw Mr, Harris in Lyons, and found him as firm as ever in his belief in the purity of Mormonism, notwithstanding he had been fleeced of his goodly estate. He had just arrived from Liberty, Missouri, the then "promised land," and soon afterwards returned to that place. We have not seen him since,

and supposed, until we saw the announcement of his death, that he wis still among the most zealous and

conspicuous of Jo. Smith's followers. But we were

wrong. Mr. Harris's native honesty had gained the

mastery of his credulity. He had been so long a confidant of Smith and his leading associates, and had

seen so much of their villany that he undoubtedly

felt it a duty to expose them and their debasing doc

trines. Hence his lectures against Mormonism in

Illinois, and hence, too, his probable murder by some

ot that sect.

Mr. Harris was about 55 years of age. His first

wife died in Palmyra some tour or hve years since, having refused to accompany him to the "promised land," about a year after which he returned to Wayne

county, and married again. INTERESTING CORRESPONDENCE.

The following letters do honor to the feelings

which dictated them. They are both very happy in their stvle and the sentiments which they express.

They will find a response in every true American

heart. " ' From the National Intelligencer. Washington, Ju'y 2, 1841. To the House of Representatives of the 17. States.

I have the honor herewith to submit to the House of Representatives the copy of a letter addressed by myself to Mrs. Harrison, in compliance with the reso

lutions ot Congress, ana tne repiy tnereto. John Tyler. Washington City, June 13, 1841. Mh Dear Madam: The accompanying resolutions

adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, will convey to you an expression

of the deep sympathy felt by the Representatives of

the States, and of the People, in the sad bereavement

which yourself and the country has sustained in the death of vour illustrious husband. It may now be

justly considered that the public archives constitute his endurinsr monument, on which are inscribed, in

characters not to be effaced, the proudest evidences of

Dublic gratitude for services rendered, and ot sorrow

for his death. A great and united people shed their tears over the bier of a devoted patriot and distin

guished benefactor. In conveying to you, my dear madam, the proposed

respect of the two Houses of Congress for vour per

son and character, and their condolenee on the late afflictinrr dispensation of Providence, permit me to

mingle my feelings with theirs, and to tender you my

fervent wishes tor your health, happiness, and Jong

lite. John Iyler. Mrs. Anna Harrison. North Bend, June 24, 1841.

Dear Sir: I have received with sentiments of deep

emotion the resolutions of the Senate and House of

Representatives, which you have done me the honor

of forwarding, relative to tbe decease ot my lamented

husband.

I cannot sufficiently express the thanks I owe to the nation and its assembled Representatives, for their

condolence, so feelingly expressed, of my individual

calamity, and the national bereavement; but, ming

ling my tears with the sighs of the many patriots of

the land, pray to Heaven tor the enduring happiness

and prosperity of our beloved country. Anna Harrison. John Tyler, President of tbe United States.

friend and co-speculator of John K. Simpson, one of the getters up and owners of that swindling concern and government pet, the Lafayette Bank. He was one of those who raised the cry of speculation against the

Whig party in order to hide their own rascality in the dust they raised. He is now reaping the fruits of his own hypocrisy and folly. If he has really repented and turned from his speculations, to an honest and respectable calling, we are truly rejoiced at it. The example might be followed by many more of his party.

Isaac Hill is seen daily at his desk reporting for

his paper the proceedings of the Legislature of New

Hampshire. Many Loco Foco Editors, in speaking

of this, have gone into ecstacies ot praise. Lpon the above fact the Albany Evening Journal offers the following comment: It is certainly a novel spectacle to see a man who has been Governor of his own State and Senator in Congress, bending to the daily drudgery of a reporter. Isaac Hill was once a poor printer's boy, and by his industry and talents won his way to fame and fortune. What has brought him down again to the foot of fortune's ladder! The evil which he so heartily cursesspeculation. Like the man who was well, wished to be better, took physic and died, be was rich, wished to be richer, speculated and was ruined. He was the

From the Iowa Hawk-Eye, of July 8. VISIT TO THE MORMONS. On Saturday the 3d inst. we," in company with a very large party of ladies and gentlemen in this city, took passage on board the Steamer Nauvoo, Capt. Guthrie, for the city of Nauvoo. As you approach Nauvoo from the river, and reach the bank, which is not very high, you begin to ascend a gentle slope of prairie, interspersed with a few scattering oaks. The ascent is so gradual for nearly a mile, as to cause no more inconvenience than in walking over a plain. The face of the whole town site for a mile up and down the river does not vary much from this description. About three quarters of a mile from the landing we saw 8 large concourse of people apparently engaged in listening to someone addressing them. When we came near we discovered a large crowd. Most of the Mormons could be dis

tinguished' by their military dresses, We do not know how they appeared on parade, but as we saw

them, they presented the appearance of having searched the World over, and all the armories to boot, to obtain their military dresses and equipments. They seemed to be in truth a motley crew. Some with one

pistol, some with two; others with a pike or harpoon; and we even saw some with a brace of horse-pistols, a gun, and a sword. The cavalry or cohorts remained on their horses, and surrounded the stand, so that it made it difficult to get near enough to hear

Risdon's speech to anv advantage, shortly after ar

riving we were obliged to disperse with the crowd, when we wended our way towards the dinner table. On the way we took a look at the foundation of the temple, which, with the help of one tenth of all their

labor, which wo are informed is required, is progressing tolerably fast. Before going to the dinner-table

we visited the "ox-shed." Here we found the "front

half " of twelve oxen as large as life, carved from

wood. Somsof them were in such a state of forwardness as to look quite natural, When finished they are to be gilded and placed within the temple, as the base of the great baptismal laver according to the Mosaic ritual, we suppose. We then visited the table, but we,re not allowed to come very near it on account of the guard. It was situated on a second bench of the prairie before mentioned, and was stretched along the plain for upwards of a thousand feet. After waiting a short time the cannon they had several on the ground announced the approach of the procession. "Jo. Smith," his body guard having retired, was now seated in a barouche at the head of the procession with what we took to be his family. He was dressed in a splendid uniform from top to toe. After he alighted and took the head of the table, the procession passed on, consisting of men, women, and children, to their respective places at the table. The crier informed the surrounding multitude there was sufficient room for five hundred more, but few took advantage of this information. We waited to see the "Prophet" carve a large and fat turkey, and distribute it to the ladies around him; after which our company left the ground. Thus ended our visit to the Mormons. A statement of the impressions we received and the reflections growing out of them, will be reserved to some future number.

"Mr. Espy, the Rain-maker, is in Boston and seems to be under the protection of our excellent cotemporary of the Atlas, but for whose patronage the Atlas tells us, Mr. Espy is of opinion that he would not have been so graciously received by the European savans during his recent visit to the Eastern Continent. Mr. Espy is an amiable man and a very ingenious theorist, and we are gratified at the politeness of his reception in France and England, but the Atlas is too sanguine in supposing that Congress will ever do any thing towards encouraging his manufacture of rain water. There is no warrant for it in the Constitution, and it is hardly to be supposed that people costive enough in "strict construction" to be thrown into asphyxia, at the bear idea of paying the salary of a deceased President to his legal representatives, will ever consent to an appropriation, for bringing the atmosphere into a perspiration. Such a proposition would sweat a Virgina or South Carolina politician into a copious shower of rain, accompanied by a great deal of tuhnder." New York Courier.

The Boundary Line between Texas and the United States. A few days since, Col. Kearney, of the engineers, expected to reach the terminus of the Texas line at Red River. Caddo parish, in Louisiana, loses two ranges of townships, inhabited by a population of great wealth and excellent character. The land is equal to any in Louisiana. This transference of a host of families from one government to another, must be unpleasant to Americans, but Col. Potter, in the Texas Congress, anticipating this event, got a bill passed securing to the owners all their lands.

Mr. Ingersoll, in his late speech in Congress on the subject of the Abolition petitions, states that "by an almost unanimous adjudication, of the Supreme Court of the United States last winter every judge but one concurring it was resolved that what is called slave trade among the States is not of Federal cognizance. Whether slaves shall b taken from one State to another, exceptas fugitives, is matter of State i right with which Congress, or any other Federal authority, has nothing to do."

SCHOOL TEACHER'S MAJfUAL, containing practical lug gestions on Teaching and popalar education. For sale a july 2 DAVIS' Bookstore.

NEW CASH STOKE, Wuhingt" street, 5 doors fl nt of Porter's Coraer. THE subscribers respectfully inform tbe public that they have jnst received from Philadelphia a well selected assortment of seasonable and cheap Goods, consisting of Dry Goods, Groceries, Hardware, Boots, Shoes, Hats, Caps,&e. which they par. ticularly invite the public to call and examine, being determined to give as good bargains as can be bad in rndianapolis for cash, nov 27 ' WM. ECKERT Co. N. B. A good assortment of 8addles, Bridles, Harness ste. for sale very cheap.

JUST Received a Lot of Extract Hyoseiamus. Com p. Extract Colocyntb, " Cieut. Extract Gentian, Muriate Morphia. " Dandelion. Verstrine.

july 8

CRAIGHEAD BRAXDOS.

BOXES Superior Tobacco,

1 10 sjo Common do. For sals by

MadisOB jnn 25

C. WOODBTJRJf.